It’s Friday 19th July (2024) and I’m determined to get to a beach with clean water! Memories of one or two holidays from the early seventies have led me to look up Bigbury-on-Sea, and yes, all is well there regarding the quality of the water.

So I put the postcode into Satnav and after retrieving the ice pack which was frozen overnight, we get en route. At one point on a fairly narrow lane with high hedges there’s a 20 minute delay as two large vehicles going in opposite direction come face to face (headlight to headlight?) and traffic immediately stacks up behind them. Once that was over, Garmin seemed unable to distinguish between unclassified roads and A roads, constantly telling me to follow A 3121 when we’d already left it!

So I was delighted after much wriggling and weaving around lanes without views, finally to come over a brow and see the spit of sand which separates Bigbury from Burgh Island. So delighted that I was keen to pull over and take its photograph:

(The phantom fingers are a reflection of the gloves which I keep on the dashboard – I didn’t realise.)

That sand is visible and available at low tide, but is covered by the sea around high tide, necessitating the use of the sea tractor for those wishing to cross to or from the hotel or the pub on the island, or who have gone for a walk round the island and got cut off.

I went on down and investigated the car park, but I didn’t want to park up and head for the beach just then as it was (nearly) lunch time. Searching on line, I had found several possible places, and was particularly tempted by The Oyster Shack. You can find lots of pictures of this fairly rustic place, and their produce, simply by searching ‘The Oyster Shack Bigbury’. I trusted Garmin to get me there, and I arrived at 12.20. The greeting was pleasant and smiley – ‘What can we do for you, sir?’ – ‘Well, I was thinking I might have lunch’. They didn’t serve lunch till 12.30, but I was happy to sit in the sun and wait, with a glass of refreshingly cold white wine. The menu with all its options was explained to me and I chose to have just six oysters. These were served on a plate of ice (containing crushed ice, not made of ice!) and they were another contender for best meal of the trip. Expensive, with the wine, but I enjoyed it.

I made my way back to Bigbury, with the intention of having some beach time, including a dip in the sea. Parking was a problem (the word ‘nightmare’ also springs to mind). It had to be done by ‘Pay by Phone’ – not RingGo which I’m fairly familiar with by now. I wasn’t the only one struggling with it! Phone signal was weak which didn’t help, obviously, but eventually I sorted it and paid for 4 hours. Then I made my way down to the beach, not where the sea might cover the sand, but this one:

When I went down to it, there was a lot more sand available than on the photo and both the sky and the sea were a perfect blue. The photo was taken after I had left the beach. I found a suitable spot, spread out my beach mat (a convertible bag – been a boon for years!), and tried to take appropriate precautions against sunburn. You know, anointing yourself all over with factor whatever, isn’t easy! I did miss a few bits and it showed, but nothing too drastic. Then I headed for the water; yes, I went IN. Back at the mat, I fell asleep for a little while. Waking up, I decided another dip would be a good idea, but on returning, I realised that getting back to the steps leading up to the car park wouldn’t be possible without paddling! So I did that.

That’s when I decided to go to a viewpoint and take photos of the sea tractor leaving Burgh Island:

and returning to the mainland:

Btw: Burgh Island was a favourite spot for Agatha Christie, and two of her well known stories were set there, including ‘And Then There Were None’. To learn more of this search ‘Burgh Island Agatha Christie’.

It was now time to decide where to go next and have my picnic ‘tea’. I looked online for picnic sites and this was when I discovered how few sites there are in this area with parking and tables. I saw one and tried to find it. Either it doesn’t exist or the signage is inadequate. I did get to a nice viewpoint on a NT property, and there I began to regret not having packed my folding table as well as the chair. I gave up and headed for ‘home’. This led me to the southern end of the M5, and between J30 where it ends, and J29 (for my guest house), there is a Moto service area which actually includes a picnic site!

This was the ONLY picnic site I found all week! At this time, Friday 20th July, the food I had brought from home was still useable so I enjoyed my hard boiled egg with potatoes and mayonnaise, and, of course, a tiny bottle of white wine. There might have been some cheese and grapes as well. Naturally, a picnic site on a service area does give one access to other facilities, which, in Esperanto, we call necessary places!

So I got back to my little bedroom at the Grange Boutique Hotel in time to listen to ‘Any Questions’ – an activity which had repercussions the next day!

Next up – a Soggy Saturday in Exeter!